Starfleet
The Earth Starfleet (often simply called Starfleet) was the primary space defense and exploration organization of United Earth in the early-to-mid-22nd Century. The primary authority of the Earth Starfleet was referred to as Starfleet Command, under the jurisdiction of the Command Council, and was located in the city of San Francisco, Earth. The main purpose of the Earth Starfleet was "...to seek out new life forms and civilizations, and to boldly go where no one has gone before." (This quote is attributed to Zefram Cochrane, the inventor of warp drive on Earth.) While it was a civilian organization, the Earth Starfleet adopted many aspects of Earth's earlier military forces, even though its main role was scientific development and exploration. Ranks within Starfleet closely follow the naval traditions of the United States of America. In 2153, following the Xindi attack on Earth and the numerous firefights that the ''Enterprise'' NX-01 had been involved in since its launch in 2151, it was determined that vessels of the Earth Starfleet would begin to carry detachments of United Earth's elite military unit, the MACOs, thus taking a step towards the unification of the Earth Starfleet and the Earth military -- and of the roles of defense and exploration. The same basic uniform was worn by all Earth Starfleet officers, with differences in insignia and colour-coded elements designed to distinguish rank and departmental function. Earth Starfleet departments included Starfleet Operations and Starfleet Security. One of the primary projects of the Earth Starfleet was to develop a viable and fast interstellar engine that would allow Earth to practically cross vast distances in reasonably short time. Despite some allegations of interference -- or at least, a refusal of assistance -- from the Vulcans, Earth had made notable progress in developing the warp five engine by the 2150s. Key officials overseeing the Earth Starfleet included: * Admiral Maxwell Forrest * Admiral Daniel Leonard * Admiral Gardner * Commander Williams :Forrest, Leonard and Williams were named after William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy and DeForest Kelley. The most famous ship of the Earth Starfleet was the NX-class Enterprise (NX-01). That ship was the first to be equipped with the Warp 5 engine, and made first contact with over thirty species. Under the command of Captain Jonathan Archer, Enterprise established Earth as an interstellar power after negotiating treaties between the Vulcans and Andorians in 2153, saving the galaxy from the Sphere Builders and the Xindi in 2154, uncovering the lost teachings of Surak on Vulcan and preventing a Vulcan invasion of Andor later in 2154, helping to instigate a cultural and political coup d'etat against the dictatorial Vulcan head of state Administrator V'Las, and attempting to facilitate peace talks between the Andorians and Tellarites following a series of attacks on both races in late 2154. The Earth Starfleet also built the NX-class ''Columbia'' (NX-02), launching that ship in late 2154. Both ships were among the primary line of defense against the Romulans during the Earth-Romulan War of the late 2150's. The Starfleet Charter, Article 14, Section 31, made allowances for certain rules to be bent during times of extraordinary threat. This clause was the seed for the rogue organization known as Section 31. Lieutenant Malcolm Reed was recruited to Section 31 as a young ensign. (ENT: "Affliction" and "Divergence") :In DS9: "Tacking Into the Wind", Julian Bashir said that Section 31 had managed to stay hidden for "over three hundred years". If this estimate is correct, then the Earth Starfleet must have been chartered before 2075. The Earth Starfleet was succeeded in 2161 by the new Starfleet of the United Federation of Planets, of which the Earth fleet formed a major part. See also * Starfleet ranks * ''Enterprise'' (NX-01) * Henry Archer * NX test program * Earth Starfleet personnel * Earth Starfleet starships